The Ohio Supreme Court declined a request to review Mackenzie Shirilla’s post-conviction appeals after she killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and friend Davion Flanagan in a fatal car crash.
Shirilla, 21, was found guilty of murder in 2023 following the deaths of Russo, 20, and Flanagan, 19, in July 2022. She was sentenced to two terms of 15 years to life in prison after prosecutors argued that she intentionally killed the two victims.
In the recent filing, Shirilla’s lawyers said they requested the review due to a calendar mistake.
Her attorneys missed the deadline to file a post-conviction challenge by one day, according to court documents viewed by Us Weekly. However, the legal team argued that they missed the deadline because they didn’t take into account that 2024 was a leap year.
The Ohio Supreme Court announced on Tuesday, June 23, that they would not review the case due to the late filing and the fact “that the trial court correctly determined it was without jurisdiction to consider the petition,” according to Cleveland 19.
Ohio law states that convicted defendants typically have 365 days after their trial transcripts are filed to challenge their conviction. Shirilla’s trial transcripts were submitted on October 23, 2023, meaning that the October 24, 2024, filing was more than 365 days later.
Shirilla’s new attorneys filed another appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court on April 27, 2026, in which they argued that the deadline should be later because a separate transcript was filed weeks after the October 2023 record.
The attorneys also argued that Shirilla would have been acquitted if she had received effective assistance of counsel during her trial.
While explaining their decision, the Ohio Supreme Court pointed to jurisdiction and said that Shirilla’s lawyer’s arguments did not meet exceptions in order for them to conduct a review.
In light of the conclusion, Justices said that the trial court lacked the authority to excuse the delay in the filing.
Shirilla is currently in custody at Ohio Reformatory for Women and her first parole hearing is scheduled for 2037.
Mackenzie Shirilla became the subject of national attention after a fatal July 2022 car crash in Ohio left her boyfriend and a close friend dead, and ultimately landed her behind bars on murder charges. Now 21, Shirilla is serving two concurrent life sentences, and renewed interest in her case following Netflix’s documentary The Crash has […]
Her case has gained renewed attention after she was featured in Netflix’s May documentary The Crash. In the documentary, Shirilla expressed remorse for the killings and insisted she never intended to kill Russo and Flanagan.
Shirilla also speculated in the documentary that her diagnosed medical condition, particularly postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), caused the crash.
POTS “is a condition that causes a number of symptoms when you transition from lying down to standing up, such as a fast heart rate, dizziness and fatigue,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “While there’s no cure, several treatments and lifestyle changes can help manage the symptoms of POTS.”
